Chapter Eleven
Barra wasn’t going to lie; she felt a little nervous walking back into The Sending.
The last time she’d stood in front of Vivian, she’d won the title of Outlast Her and watched as confetti had rained down from the sky.
She’d watched as Dominique’s family stood stiffly to the side, giving tight smiles and polite claps, while her own had come rushing forward.
Her mom had nearly knocked the wind out of her as she’d pulled her into a hug.
Gabi had shouted, “You’ll be getting all my cinnamon-spiced lattes from now on.
” And over her grand-nanna’s shoulder, Barra had caught Dominique’s eye.
Just for a second. Just long enough to mouth “I’m sorry.
” Just long enough to see Dominique frown like she didn’t understand why Barra was sorry.
But she had been sorry for more than just winning.
It wasn’t that Barra was scared of going home, but more so that she’d be dropping a stone into a cup without Dominique. Whenever Barra had felt panicked, or indecisive, or just plain reckless, Dominique had been there, levelling her out. What if she couldn’t do it without her?
“Welcome, Outlast Her contestants, to the first Sending of Season Seven,” Vivian announced, stretching her arms out like she wanted to embrace the whole lot of them.
“We have six winners back for another round. Which means half of you know exactly how this works and exactly how quickly it can all fall apart.”
Barra couldn’t even force a smile. She simply looked to the ground, to the packed leaves, and headed straight for the furthest tree stump.
Season Five had taken place in the middle of the Outback under two gorgeous river red gums. This season, there was jungle pressing in close.
Cecropia trees and coconut palms towered above their heads.
To one side was a jagged wall of grey volcanic rock, and to the other a cluster of trees with woven palm lanterns hanging off their branches.
Each lantern was filled with a short, fat, flickering candle.
Barra could hear the crash of the Pacific Ocean in the distance, but she couldn’t see it.
At the center was a wooden platform holding the table with the six cups, and around it, a loose semi-circle of driftwood logs.
Unlike the Flinders Ranges, where even the smallest spark could light up the place like a match, this clearing had candles everywhere.
Hazel sat beside her, but it was Allie, sitting behind her, who made her feel better. “Don’t be stressed,” Allie muttered softly. Barra didn’t have to look back to know Allie was leaning forward because she could feel her warm breath on her ear. “We’ve got this.”
She was right. They did have this. And with no help from Sutton.
Barra had easily managed to convince Tilly and Toph to join them on the vote.
Neither cared who they were voting for as long as their names weren’t mentioned.
Elodie and Anna, on the other hand, had been a different story entirely.
Apparently, Sutton had done just the opposite of winning their trust. And that afternoon, a few short hours before The Sending, when Barra and Allie had taken to cleaning the rice pot—or more so Barra had watched while Allie scrubbed like a woman who hadn’t scrubbed anything in her life—they’d joined them at the shoreline.
“We want to trust you and Sutton,” Elodie had said, taking the pot from Allie, who had a black smear on her cheek. “But we don’t think we can. Sutton’s digging herself a hole.”
“And not with a shovel. She’s using a full-on digger-loader,” Anna had said.
Allie had caught Barra’s eye, and in that instant, Barra knew what she was going to do. She was about to drop the bomb about the protection bracelet, which Barra had encouraged with a single, almost imperceptible nod. Sometimes drastic measures were the only way forward.
“I’ve got the protection bracelet,” Allie had then said.
“I found it underneath the table at the feast. It’s currently stuffed in the bottom of my bag.
” She’d taken a breath, her shoulders literally lifting while Barra, on the other hand, had held hers so tight her traps ached.
“I’m telling you this because I want to work with the two of you. I want your trust.”
Anna had turned to Barra. “Have you seen it?”
Technically, Barra hadn’t. She’d only witnessed Allie stuff something that could be a protection bracelet into the waistband of her pants.
Not once had she considered the possibility that Allie was lying.
At least not until this moment. Still, Barra chose to trust her.
“Yes, I have seen it,” she lied, but only because it was for the greater good.
Valerie, announcing she had the protection bracelet and refusing to show anyone, had already sent a ripple of suspicion through the group.
Barra wasn’t going to add even more kindling to the raging fire.
“Does Sutton know about this?”
Allie shook her head.
Both Elodie and Anna had smiled. “I think that’s a smart move,” Elodie had said, running a hand through her pink hair. “I know you’re paired up with her, Allie, but by the way Sutton’s going, you shouldn’t be surprised if you’re both on the bottom soon.”
Anna had nodded. “I honestly have no idea how she won her season.”
Barra had. Sutton had won it with brute force.
Vivian cleared her throat, getting everyone’s attention, including Barra’s.
Her head snapped up just as Vivian stepped beside the platform.
She was wearing a burnt-orange slip dress paired with gladiator sandals.
“Tonight’s Sending is simple. Each pair will cast one vote by placing a single stone into the cup of the pair they want to send home. ”
She paused, letting it settle long enough for Barra’s stomach to fill with nerves.
“The pair with the most stones will be at risk,” Vivian went on before the cicadas started back up again.
“From there, they’ll have a choice. Leave the game together or stay together and face The Sending.
If you stay, the rest of the group will vote again, but this time, only one of you will go home.
” Her lips curved in that way only Vivian’s lips could.
“But before we vote, I’d like to hear from all of you.
” Then she gestured to Valerie first. “You seem like you’re enjoying yourself, Valerie. How badly did you want to be here?”
“Badly,” Valerie said without missing a beat.
“I even deferred a promotion for this. My boss thought I was joking when I said I might need a month off to compete on a reality show.” She gave a satisfied smile.
Out of the corner of her eye, Barra could practically hear Sutton’s eye roll.
“But it was worth it. I don’t regret it at all. ”
Vivian smiled, her eyes sparkling. “Did you find it at all daunting to come into this season with six previous winners?”
Valerie shrugged. “Not really,” she said. “If anything, it’s predictable. Winners rely on what worked before. They fall into patterns, and patterns are easy to break.”
Someone cleared their throat. Barra couldn’t tell who exactly, but it wouldn’t take a degree to figure out it was probably Sutton. Not that Barra wasn’t a little annoyed at the answer. What pattern was she relying on exactly? And even if she had one, Valerie couldn’t break it with a bulldozer.
“Tilly,” Vivian said, moving on. “Do you feel the same way?”
Tilly let out a breathy laugh and rubbed her hands together. “I don’t,” she said. “I mean, these are people who’ve won before. They’ve outlasted eleven other women and spent twenty-eight days out here. I respect each and every one of them.”
Valerie seemed nonplussed. In fact, she looked like she disagreed entirely.
Barra was just about to lean a bit forward to catch Sutton’s eye.
Surely the woman had tons to say. But then Vivian said her name.
“Barra. You won Season Five, and although that wasn’t so long ago, a lot has changed since.
I think some of the contestants here can agree that you seem a little different this season. ”
Barra felt her ears go warm. “How so, Vivian?”
“Well, we haven’t had any complaints of you snoring too loudly. Or laughing too loudly. It’s only been a few days, but camp seems to be missing that Barra-esque energy Season Five came to know so well. Is this a new strategy or just a new Barra?”
Barra knew she wasn’t the same Barra who had laughed so loudly it echoed through camp, who’d spun barefoot under the red gums just because the wind picked up, who’d twice led a late afternoon game of charades, once soloed Take A Chance On Me, and shoved a stick between her teeth and acted like Rip Wheeler. “Can it be both?”
Vivian smiled and thankfully left it at that before she turned to Connie.
She had her buff tied around her head, the red-orange fabric nearly identical to her hair.
“You won the very first season of Outlast Her. You’ve seen this game from the beginning.
How do these newer contestants compare? Do you think they’ve changed at all? ”
Connie nodded slowly and first glanced at Margaret on her left and Juniper on her right, both of whom were looking down at their laps.
Nerves? Barra didn’t blame them. The longer they sat there with the candles flickering, the more nervous she became.
“They’ve definitely changed,” Connie said.
“Back in Season One, people played simpler. You trusted your gut, your partner, and if someone lied, it was obvious.”
“Now?” Vivian asked, raising a single brow.
“Everyone’s thinking three moves ahead,” Connie replied. “And they lie. They lie well. To be honest, the game has become a lot harder to read.”
“Do you want to elaborate on that?”
Connie chuckled and shook her head. “I think that’s a bag of sour candy worms we can unpack at another time, don’t you?”